Criminal Justice

Gardner Museum Heist — New Theory From Local Sleuths

Forget everything you think you know about the Gardner Museum art heist — the Mob, Whitey Bulger, men dressed as cops, the IRA — forget all that. A pair of local amateur detectives have developed a compelling theory suggesting that it was avant-garde filmmaker, former MIT art lecturer, and self-described sociopath, Joseph Gibbons, who robbed …

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‘The Doctor Broad’ At Weaver Library

(10.1) We are sending you across the river for this one. Fans of the first season of Crimetown should head over to the Weaver Library this Tuesday for an author talk by Dr. Barbara Roberts. She will be discussing her book “The Doctor Broad: A Mafia Love Story.” Dr. Barbara Roberts, author of The Doctor …

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A Conversation With Chris Hayes At Granoff

(9.22) Bestselling author, host of MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, and Brown alum, Chris Hayes, takes on policing and democracy in his latest book, A Colony in a Nation. Hayes fans should head over to the Granoff Center this Saturday morning for “A Conversation with Chris Hayes,” sponsored by the Center for the Study …

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‘Shallow Graves’ Author At BotS

(10.26) Meet crime reporter Maureen Boyle tonight at Books on the Square and learn about her book “Shallow Graves: The Hunt for the New Bedford Highway Serial Killer.” Eleven women went missing over the spring and summer of 1988 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, an old fishing port known as the Whaling City, where Moby Dick, …

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Criminal Justice Reform A Priority

On Monday we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. and I would like to echo the suggestion made by Jim Vincent, president of the Providence NAACP, in today’s ProJo — “Honor King with probation reform.” Rhode Island has the second-highest probation rate in the country – one in 20 adult men are on probation at any …

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Unsolved Homicides On the Rise

Since the federal government declared its war on drugs several decades ago the clearance rate of homicides throughout the country has steadily declined. Data available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports) show that the percentage of homicides “solved” nationwide decreased from 72% in 1980 to 64% in 2008. …

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Judge Lagueux Rights A Wrong

Ten years ago U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux reluctantly sentenced Denise Dallaire to 15 years in prison for selling crack cocaine; one of the more invidious initiatives in the war on drugs — mandatory sentencing guidelines — left him no choice. The New York Times reports that last month Judge Lagueux had an …

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‘Data In Your Backyard’ — Juvenile Justice In Rhode Island

AS220 Youth invites you to join RI Kids Count for a community presentation of ‘Data in Your Backyard’  exploring Juvenile Justice in Rhode Island. Discussed will be information that reflects the recent and rapid move towards community-based correction. As a dramatic drop in the number of incarcerated youth has been seen in the state, there …

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Rhode Islanders Ready For Marijuana Decrim

Late last month, the Marijuana Policy Project commissioned Public Policy Polling to survey Rhode Island voter attitudes toward marijuana policy. The results are in, and the numbers indicate that Rhode Islanders from both sides of the aisle are ready for change with an overwhelming 65% supporting a decrease in the penalties for simple possession of …

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Cop’s Marijuana Legalization Question Top Vote-Getter In White House Video Contest

[youtube]J0IpiATxdR4[/youtube] A question advocating marijuana legalization from a retired LAPD deputy chief of police won twice as many votes as any other video question in the White House’s “Your Interview with the President” competition on YouTube this weekend. President Obama is slated to answer some of the top-voted questions on Monday. The marijuana question was …

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Bulger Book Event — Books On The Square

(1.5) Providence writer Jon Land and FBI agent Robert Fitzpatrick will be at Books on the Square this Thursday to promote their book Betrayal: Whitey Bulger and the FBI Agent Who Fought To Bring Him Down. Robert Fitzpatrick spent twenty-plus years as an FBI agent and chief in a career highlighted by his involvement in …

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‘Body Of Proof’ Premiere Tuesday — Science Fiction?

Okay it’s time to watch another TV show where we all try to see what’s behind the actors the whole time. Hey, that’s my nail salon! It’s where the school used to be! Finally, a crime drama about forensic medicine. Crews from the new ABC show —  starring Dana Delany as a flawed but brilliant …

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